Opinions vary on Alabama basketball heading into the 2026-27 season. The Tide certainly took some losses this offseason with Labaron Philon entering the draft, Aiden Sherrell transferring to Indiana, and key contributors like Latrell Wrightsell and Houston Mallette exhausting their eligibility.
But Nate Oats did good work bringing in talent. Alabama signed a Top 10 high school recruiting class, filled some major needs in the portal, and brought back key pieces from last season's team. Most notably, Alabama pulled Amari Allen back from the NBA Draft process and just got major clarity on Aden Holloway, whose path back to the basketball court appears a lot clearer than it did just a week ago.
The general consensus from so-called experts about this Alabama team is that it's more of a Top 15-20 type team rather than the legitimate national title contender that Oats is always trying to build. Many are taking a wait-and-see approach with the Crimson Tide.
CBS Sports' Isaac Trotter is not.
"Alabama has a good roster, and Nate Oats is on the sideline. Do you need to hear anything else? This team is going to be good," Trotter writes.
CBS Sports' Isaac Trotter has Alabama No. 3 in way-too-early SEC basketball power rankings
In his way-too-early SEC basketball power rankings, Trotter placed Alabama at No. 3 behind Florida and Texas. While he lists the Gators and Longhorns as legitimate national title contenders, he has the Crimson Tide among a group of "tier two" teams in the SEC, but notes the SEC will be the best league in college basketball again next season and that Oats will have Alabama right in the thick of the conference title race.
Trotter is bullish on Alabama's backcourt duo of Holloway and Allen, believing Holloway could lead the SEC in three-point shooting and that Allen's numbers are going to spike significantly with increased usage.
He's also one of the only ones who correctly identifies how much better and more versatile Alabama will be defensively next season. Oats has worked painstakingly hard to change the makeup of the Tide's roster, getting bigger in the backcourt, on the wing, and in the frontcourt.
Holloway should be Alabama's only rotational player who is under 6-foot-6. This team will be big and versatile, capable of switching pick-and-rolls and moving away from the patented drop coverage that Oats had success with previously in Tuscaloosa, but that hasn't worked as effectively in recent seasons.
Trotter's biggest question for Alabama surrounds the consistency of Brandon Garrison, which has been a common theme for detractors. Garrison is an exceptional athlete with a high ceiling, but as Trotter notes, his "processing and decision-making on both ends can make you want to rip your hair out."
Garrison will be an important player for Alabama, but there's a lot of competition for minutes in the frontcourt that should force Garrison to give consistent effort. It won't be like last year for Alabama, with only Sherrell capable of playing the five. Along with Garrison, Oats added Jamarion Davis-Fleming and Drew Fielder in the Transfer Portal, while also retaining both Keitenn Bristow and Collins Onyejiaka.
Alabama has talent and depth everywhere, and if the defense can take the step forward Oats hopes, there's legitimate reason for optimism that this team will compete at the top of the SEC while being a threat for yet another deep NCAA Tournament run.
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